falloutfanonfandomcom-20200222-history
Doom Train
Originally known as the Keystone Queen, the locomotive that would eventually become known as the Doom Train was built in 2020 at the South Philadelphia Locomotive Works. The 2-8-6 nuclear-powered locomotive was commissioned by the Empire State Railroad to pull freight, but has since been adopted by the Dred Runners. Pre-War History At the turn of the 21st century, the Empire State Railroad contracted the South Philadelphia Locomotive Works to build a fleet of nuclear-powered locomotives to pull their freight lines. The men of the industrial complex fulfilled the needs of the railway, cranking out locomotive after locomotive. Among one of their finished products was a 2-8-6 locomotive dubbed the Keystone Queen, which hauled steel and iron between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In the 2030s, the company attempted to revive passenger transportation and the Keystone Queen was one of the engines selected to pull passenger trains. The engine operated on Empire State Railroad’s Windy City Line, which operated between New York and Chicago, making stops in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Canton, Cleveland, Toledo, and Fort Wayne. Service was suspended after numerous lawsuits were filed claiming that the nuclear-powered engines were giving passengers radiation poisoning, and the Keystone Queen returned to hauling freight. In the 2060s, engineers and technicians retrofitted the Keystone Queen and most other nuclear locomotives in the Empire State Railroad fleet to microfusion core power, preventing passengers from being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation and allowing the Keystone Queen to take on passengers once again. On the morning of October 23, 2077, the Keystone Queen was nearing the end of a trip back from Chicago en route back to New York. The last confirmed sighting of locomotive was as it passed Pittsburgh and entered into the Appalachians. Post-War History The Keystone Queen was given new life in 2255, when a slaver fleeing the scourge of the Pitt happened to stumble upon the locomotive. While running from Brotherhood of Steel forces, Jayden King came upon the vehicle a few miles southeast of the city. He took refuge in the vehicle, allowing the Brotherhood of Steel to pass him by, but when the coast was clear, he did not abandon it. While not much of a gearhead himself, King assessed the locomotive and found it to be in relatively good shape. While extensive repairs would be needed, he felt that it could be made operational again. Over the next few months, he contacted various associates and called in numerous favors. The most important of these associates was Alicia Cooper, a former engineer and technician from Raven Rock that had fled the group after selling Enclave technology to a private buyer in the Capital Wasteland. King had met Cooper while transporting slaves from Paradise Falls to The Pitt, and knew that she had a great aptitude for technology and machinery. Together, they were able to bring the locomotive back to life. King had heard rumors of The Pitt coming back to life, not as a city of cannibals and wild men, but as a city of slaves and slavers. He took the reborn Keystone Queen to the rail yard on the outskirts of the city and discovered that the rumors were true- The Pitt was back in business and its new rulers were actively seeking slaves. King got as much of his old crew as he could find back together and began doing what he knew best- capturing and selling slaves. Riding along the remnants of the U.S. rail system on the Keystone Queen gave him access to more territory than he ever imagined. In the years since King and the Dred Runners have been operational, the Keystone Queen has been informally renamed The Doom Train, because those that see it know that there is a chance they may be captured and sold as slaves. King has never formally renamed the locomotive, but has embraced the name, referring to the locomotive as such. Appearance The Doom Train is a massive behemoth, weighing 247 tons and stretching 125 feet long. The locomotive is a 4-8-6 engine, meaning it has four leading wheels, eight coupled driving wheels, and six trailing wheels. The cab is located at its far end, while the rest of the locomotive is dedicated to its reactor. Before the 2060s, the engine’s nuclear core was mounted in the front of the engine, surrounded by an extensive cooling system in the middle. After the locomotive was upgraded to microfusion core power, the nuclear core and much of the cooling system was removed. The massive locomotive uses 30 microfusion cores, with an additional 5 that can be added in. Given how rare spare cores can be, the Dred Runners generally operate the Doom Train with 24, traveling at slow speeds and pulling very little rolling stock. Given the general lack of parts in the Post-War world and the Dred Runners’ general lack of expertise, very few modifications have been made to the locomotive since adopting it. Most repairs and additions are piecemeal and shoddy. The most notable addition to the engine is the massive elephant skull that has been welded onto its faceplate and cowcatcher. The skull was obtained by the group in the Capital Wasteland, in the ruins of what was formerly the national zoo. The elephant bones caught the eye of King, who had it affixed to the front of the engine to strike fear into those who see it. Category:Raiders